Using the internet could transform the New
Zealand economy by improving productivity, according to a
new study showing local businesses using cloud technologies
are more likely to be increasing revenue, selling more and
paying more to their staff.

The latest MYOB Business Monitor, a survey of 1000
business owners around the country, shows that businesses
using cloud solutions are more successful. These businesses
are 13% more likely to have had revenue growth over the last
12 months, 43% more likely to have more work or sales in the
pipeline for the next quarter, and 54% more likely to be
diversifying their business and product
offerings.

Employees were also likely to see the benefits,
with businesses making use of cloud solutions 61% more
likely to be increasing staff wages and salaries over the
coming year and 33% more likely to hire additional
staff.

MYOB general manager Julian Smith says
business owners are using a variety of internet based
services and products to change the way they
work.

“Using the internet as a business tool allows
companies to become more efficient and more productive,
which is improving profitability,” says Julian
Smith.

“The use of cloud services also reflects a new
way of working – allowing businesses to become more mobile
and their teams to work remotely, and for teams and
businesses to collaborate,” says Julian Smith.

“These
businesses also found lower costs in a range of areas –
from reduced IT management to scalable technology
costs.”

New Zealand consumers are also likely to benefit
from increased use of the cloud. 29% of businesses in the
MYOB Business Monitor said they would pass on any
administrative cost savings directly to customers.
“Cloud solutions help to make businesses more
profitable and competitive. They can help also make products
and services more affordable for consumers,” says Julian
Smith.

NZIER principal economist Shamubeel
Eaqub says the results of the MYOB survey highlight the
potentially transformational effects of the internet for the
local economy.

Mr. Eaqub says, like refrigerated shipping
in the 1880s, the internet represents a step-change in
technology that can connect New Zealand with the world and
truly transform the economy.

“How we use technology to
overcome the tyranny of distance and our small scale, could
define New Zealand and our place in the world in the 21st
Century. Businesses who aren’t embracing the internet are
missing out on real competitive advantages, and that means
losing market share,” says Shamubeel Eaqub.

“New
Zealand businesses need to be online to engage and compete
in an increasingly global and interconnected world. By
helping to connect us to the rest of the world and opening
up new markets and opportunities, the internet can transform
the New Zealand economy.”

“The internet is an
opportunity for transformative change. Reduction in
communication costs and the expansion of networks brings the
world closer to New Zealand. It also offers opportunities to
collaborate and drive efficiencies and the potential for
greater innovation.”

Julian Smith says although the
results for businesses using the internet are compelling,
many New Zealand businesses are missing out. The issue in
part may be down to how technology providers are approaching
their customers. Currently, just 14% of New Zealand
businesses use cloud services, and only 35% have their own
website.

“As consumers in New Zealand, we are some of
the world leaders in the way we use the internet to buy,
sell and share online. As business owners we are some way
off the pace,” says Julian Smith.

“Businesses tell us
that the main barriers to making use of the cloud is that
they don’t know enough about it to make an informed
decision; they have concerns about how and where their data
will be stored and managed; and they quite simply have too
many other priorities at present.”

“This really
highlights the need to adopt a mass-market approach to
promoting the benefits of the internet. It’s not enough
just to build the technology and talk about the technical
details. We must make it easy for time-poor business owners
to understand the benefits and adapt new internet-based
tools and services.”

Mr. Smith says the benefit of this
approach has been demonstrated by the success of MYOB
Atlas through the GetOnline.co.nz initiative – a
collaboration between Westpac and MYOB to provide a free,
easy to use website builder for businesses.

“In just
five months, we’ve seen a 5% increase in the number of New
Zealand businesses that have an online presence – one of
the largest movements online for New Zealand business in
recent times,” says Julian Smith. “The success of Atlas
and the GetOnline.co.nz initiative has shown that addressing
the pain – in this case knowing how to market your
business online – for small businesses and making it as
easy as possible for them to use the technology is
key.”

MYOB, which will launch the cloud-enabled version
of its flagship product MYOB
AccountRight Live in early November, is redeveloping the
majority of its business suite to help more businesses use
the cloud.

“This approach will bring the cloud to the
SME mass market via the country’s most popular accounting
solution. They can choose how to do their accounts: online,
offline or by alternating between at any time, and get into
the cloud without having to learn anything new.”

“We
know that businesses using the cloud are doing better –
they are more productive, earn more and are diversifying. We
believe the approach we are taking with MYOB
AccountRight Live will help more New Zealand businesses
move to the cloud and get ahead.”

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